Tourism in Croatia () is a major industry and economic sector of Croatia and its coastal inhabited islands along the Adriatic Sea. It has historically represented a large component the country's economic output (GDP), routinely reaching 10% to 15% of total GDP. Croatia is deeply integrated with the European Union (EU), contributing to overall international tourism in Southeast Europe. Tourism is concentrated along the Adriatic coast and is strongly seasonal, peaking in July and August. The most frequented cities are Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Zagreb, Split, Poreč, Umag, and Zadar, respectively.
The history of tourism in Croatia dates back to its time as part of Austria-Hungary when wealthy aristocrats would converge to the sea. Tourism expanded throughout the 1960s to the 1980s before the independence of Croatia in 1990 curbed tourism until the late-1990s. The 2000s saw a significant resurgence of Croatian tourism as it underwent nation-building with a particular emphasis on tourism revenue. By the late-2000s, Croatia became one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. In 2025, Croatia recorded 20.7 million tourist arrivals and 94.8 million tourist nights, increases of 2.2% and 1.2% respectively, from 2024.
Eight areas in the country have been designated national parks and eleven as nature parks. There are ten World Heritage Sites across the country. Factors of tourist interest are mainly culture, cuisine, history, fashion, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, nature, maritime access, and nightlife. Tourism has been partially supported by the Croatian film and television industries due to on-location filming. Inflation and overtourism has led to increased travel regulations and tourist costs since 2024. Eurostat estimated that nearly 55% of EU tourist accommodation is between Croatia (117,000) and neighboring Italy (230,000). In 2025, Croatia was the ninth-most-visited state in the EU and third-most-visted in Southern Europe.
History
Since the late-1990s, Croatia has significantly expanded its tourism sector.Milan Oplanic, Tajana Čop & Ana Čehić Marić. "Olive tourism: understanding visitors' motivations", Acta Turistica, vol. 32, n° 2, December 2020, p. 141-167. See p. 152. From 2012 to 2019, the number of annual tourist arrivals increased by 8 million. Over 16 million foreign tourists – four times the country’s population – visited Croatia in 2018. Economists argue that accession of Croatia in 2013 into the European Union, made them a more desirable tourist location due to reinvestment in their economy, open trade barriers, and looser customs control.
Croatia maintains a 1,104-mile-long Mediterranean coastline plus 1,185 islands. Only 15% of the coast, the main tourist destination in Croatia, is urbanized, and plans are in progress to further develop Croatia's coastline tourism sector. The Croatian Tourism Development Strategy finances the construction luxury accommodations, including hotels and tourist services, along with renovating older ones. Croatia has one of the UNWTO's Sustainable Tourism Observatories, part of the organization's International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). The observatory is considered a commitment to monitoring and building sustainable tourism.
Tourist regions Tourism is largely concentrated on the coastal areas, which are shared among seven counties. Tourism has high level of seasonality. The Croatian National Tourist Board has divided Croatia into six distinct tourist regions.
Istria
The west coast of the peninsula of Istria has several historical towns dating from Roman times, such as the city of Umag, which hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts. The city of Poreč is known for the UNESCO-protected Euphrasian Basilica, which includes 6th-century mosaics depicting Byzantine art. The city plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure with main streets Decumanus and Cardo Maximus still preserved in their original forms. Marafor is a Roman square with two temples attached. One of them, erected in the 1st century, is dedicated to the Roman god Neptune.Frommer's Eastern Europe, by Ryan James, Hana Mastrini, Mark Baker, 2009. Originally a Gothic Franciscan church built in the 13th century, the 'Dieta Istriana' hall was remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
The region's largest city Pula has one of the oldest amphitheatres in the world, which is still used for festivals and events. It is surrounded by hotel complexes, resorts, camps, and sports facilities. Nearby is Brijuni national park, formerly the summer residence of late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. The coastal waters offer beaches, fishing, wreck dives to ancient Roman galleys and World War I warships, cliff diving, and sailing. Pula is the end point of the EuroVelo 9 cycle route that runs from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Poland, Czechia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
The town of Rovinj contains coastal areas with a number of small bays hidden within dense vegetation, open to naturists. Although the beaches are not specified as naturist, naturists frequent them. The interior is green and wooded, with small stone towns on hills, such as Motovun. On the other side of the river lies Motovun forest, an area of about 10 square kilometres in the valley of the river Mirna, of which 280 hectares (2.8 km2) are specially protected. This area differs not only from the nearby forests, but also from those of the entire surrounding karst region because of its wildlife, moist soil, and truffles (Tuber magnatum) that grow there. Since 1999, Motovun has hosted the international Motovun Film Festival for independent films from the U.S. and Europe. Grožnjan, another hill town, hosts a three-week jazz festival every July.
Olive tourism is mainly centered around this region.Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 142-143 Olive oil is among the most important agricultural activities in Istria and this region has therefore received a large part of the nation's effort in rejuvenating the olive oil manufacturing that began around the turn of the new millennium. This includes renovating and renewing of olive grovesOplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 143, 149 (18,683 ha of olive groves in Croatia in 2018,Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 152 most of it near the coast yielding 5,000 tonnes olive oil annually).Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 153 Introduction of modern technologies in the production and processing of olives, storage of olive oil also took place."FLOS OLEI 2024 - Here are the 500 Farms included in the Guide ". See also Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 153. A 1,600 year-old olive tree sits on the island of Veli Brijun (Brijuni National Park)."The olive tree on Brijuni", on np-brijuni.hr. Olive tourism is common in rural areas where it generates additional income for olive growers who market their produce directly to consumers;Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 144Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 142, 143, 144, 145 it also has a multifaceted education value;Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 142 and it extends the seasonality of tourism – and of associated seasonal labour – into the Autumn season.Oplanic, Čop & Marić 2020, p. 149
Kvarner and Highlands
The Kvarner Gulf sits below tall mountains overlooking large islands in the sea. Opatija is the oldest tourist resort in Croatia, its tradition of tourism ranging from the 19th century. The former Venetian island towns of Rab and Lošinj are tourist destinations. The island of Rab has many monuments. With around 2,600 hours of sunshine a year, the island of Lošinj is a tourist destination for Slovenians, Italians, and Germans in the summer months. Average air humidity is 70%, and the average summer temperature is and during the winter.
The interior regions Gorski Kotar, Velebit and Lika have mountain peaks, forests and fields, many animal species including bears, and the national parks of Risnjak and Plitvice Lakes. The Plitvice Lakes National Park lies in the Plitvice plateau which is surrounded by three mountains part of the Dinaric Alps: Plješivica (Gornja Plješevica peak 1,640 m), Mala Kapela (Seliški Vrh peak at 1,280 m), and Medveđak (884 m). The national Park is underlain by karstic rock, mainly dolomite and limestone with associated lakes and caves, this has given rise to the most distinctive feature of its lakes. The lakes are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria. The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south–north direction.
The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square kilometers, with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the Korana River. The lakes are divided into the 12 Upper Lakes (Gornja jezera) and the four Lower Lakes (Donja jezera): Limestone caves are present as well. Fauna such as the European brown bear, wolf, eagle, owl, lynx, wild cat, and capercaillie can be found there, along with many more common species.
Dalmatia
Zadar
The Kornati National Park has hundreds of mostly uninhabited islands. Kornat, the biggest of the islands with a total area of , comprises two-thirds of the park's land area. Although the island is 25.2 km long, it is no wider than 2.5 km.Jeanne Oliver (2005), Croatia, pg. 187, Lonely Planet Publications, The park is managed from the town of Murter, on the island of Murter, and is connected to the mainland by a drawbridge.
Zadar, the largest city in the region, gained its urban structure in Roman times; during the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus, the town was fortified and the city walls with towers and gates were built. On the western side of the town were the forum, the basilica and the temple, while outside the town were the amphitheatre and cemeteries. The aqueduct which supplied the town with water is partially preserved. Inside the ancient town, a medieval town had developed with a series of churches and monasteries being built.
The interior has mixed plains and mountains, with the Paklenica canyon as the main attraction. The park area contains 150–200 km of trails and paths intended either for tourists or mountaineers. The island of Pag as well as the town of Novalja and Zrće have all-hours discothèques and beach bars operating during summer months.
Šibenik
Based in this region is the Cathedral of St James, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Several fortresses, remnants of the Renaissance era (which includes St. Nicholas Fortress) surround the city. The interior has the Krka National Park with waterfalls and religious monasteries.[Bradt Croatia: The Bradt Travel Guide, by Piers Letcher, Robin McKelvie, Jenny McKelvie. 2007] Inside the park is the island of Visovac which was founded during the reign of Louis I of Hungary, home to the Roman Catholic Visovac Monastery founded by the Franciscans in 1445 near Miljevci village.Naklada Naprijed, The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide, pg. 208, Zagreb (1999)] The park also includes the Serbian Orthodox Krka monastery founded in 1345.
The area around the city of Knin has medieval fortresses and archeological remains. The recently discovered Roman town Burnum is 18 km far from Knin in direction of Kistanje, which has the ruins of the biggest amphitheatre in Dalmatia built in 77 AD, which held 8,000 people, during the rule of Vespasian. The nearby villages Biskupija and Kapitul are archaeological sites from the 10th century where remains of medieval Croatian culture are found including churches, graves, decorations, and epigraphs.
Split